Tag: camera

As I posted, I went to get my zoom repaired at APM Cameras in Newcastle on Tyne the other day following the tripod fall in Dornie and I noticed a 5D Classic for sale for £450. It looked in great condition, and was labeled “new shutter”. So as I still have my old one with the broken sensor, I thought there was no harm in asking if he was able to repair it. Sadly the answer, as I expected was no. I’ve had the 5D in a cupboard for about 3 years now since I bust it in Wales and was hanging on to it simply because it cost so much money when new!

Anyway, we got to chatting and he indicated it might be of use to him for spare parts, so I took it into the shop. I still had the brand new low pass filter that I’d bought 3 years ago, and although the sensor was beyond repair, you can’t buy the filters anymore, so I thought that might be worth something.

So, I gave him the broken camera and the filter and he gave me the 5D, for £230. Utter bargain I’d say as when I got back to the van and stuck a lens on it, it performed flawlessly. In fact, a simple test shows that there is very little if any discernible difference between it and my 5D MK III using the same lens. I’m going to do some proper shots later and will post some here to show the difference.

So now it’s my backup/second camera and quite frankly the only thing I miss from the Mk III is the ability to back button focus. I like good news 🙂

I got to Broadford for about 7:30am, so I walked the dog down by the loch then came and had breakfast. Booked Jack into the vet’s for a checkup on a little lump on his gum, then went off to the post office. It was only 10am by then so I was surprised to see my camera there. I’d talked to Fraser from HDEW cameras on the phone yesterday, and he said they’d be posting 4:30pm Friday. So great postal service there 🙂

Fraser had asked if I wanted a battery, but as I had sent only the bare camera back, I wanted only the same in return. I did though ask him to check that the eye cup was attached, as for some reason Canon don’t attach them when they send the camera out.
HAHHAA! you guessed it…NO eyecup!
Never mind, I rang them and they’re sending one up. I’m staying here for a week so no loss there.

It’s 2 weeks since I dropped my camera off and I’d not heard form Johnstones, so I rang them and they said my cameras was “so” faulty, Canon themselves wanted a look at it. So it only got sent down to them 2 days ago Grrr!

Another week so I’ve come across to Helensburgh, a place I’ve never been before to explore a little 🙂

From the day the Mark II was released and I got my hands on one, I was never impressed, despite all the reviews saying how great it was and all the pros rushing out and buying one. A lot of people seemed to focus on it’s video mode but it’s a still camera, and I felt video mode should not be centre stage.
Anyway, the IQ (Image Quality) is what counts for me, and it just wasn’t there in the Mk II.

It is in the Mark III though, sharpness and contrast being back on par with the Mark I, but greater tonal and dynamic range. It is what the Mark II should have been.
I think what large companies like Canon do is they make a product which they know will sell, but without devoting time and resources to it’s development. That way they get massive revenues for little outlay. It’s just revenue building. Then the next time they release the camera as it should have been, and we’re all pleased again and once more Canon are great for making a brilliant camera.

In fact they have this thing called Product Differentiation. This means the 6D has wireless and GPS built in, but no other camera has. The 7D has ultra fast shooting speed compared to other cameras. The 5D has better focussing etc etc etc. They say it’s because different people want different things so they make the different products. However, every person who owns a 5D Mark III would like GPS and wireless mode, but it’s not offered except as a very expensive add on.

They will never make the ‘ultimate’ camera, it’s just endless politics and revenue building.

Anyway, apart from it not being that good at low light focussing, I like the images it produces and that’s really what counts for me. I just wish it didn’t cost almost £2,000 to get great images.

After some lengthy deliberation, I have decided to buy the Canon 5D mark III.

It’s not my first choice, that would be the excellent Sony SLT-A99, which kicks the Canon into touch easily. The problem there is I have to get rid of all my Canon lenses and accessories and replace them with Sony. I’d lose a lot of money and have to spend a lot more too to get what I’ve got now. If I ever win the lotto it will be Sony all the way, failing that, I’ll have to make do with the Canon, although even as second best, it’s supposed to be a great camera. Time will tell.

I’m still looking for a deal. They are about £2,300 most places. I’ve found one for £1,939, but I’d like to find it a bit cheaper still if I can so wish me luck. If I can’t find one cheaper by the end of June I may have to pay the £1,939, as I’m going to Cornwall for summer so I’d like to have a camera by then.
As ever, I’ll keep you posted 🙂

Whilst visiting Evreux I found a camera shop so decided to see what could be done about the horrendous marks appearing on all of my photos. I know what’s causing them, it’s dust and debris on the sensor. The problem is try as I might, I don’t seem able to get rid of them. So, I bought this dust kit:

Dustkit

As you can see, €72.90 so not cheap at all, nut necessary. All of my photo are being ruined.

Anyway, what you do is you take the plastic ‘spatula’ which fits your camera, wrap one of these special cloths around the end, soak it with special fluid, and wipe the sensor. Hey presto they claim, it cleans your sensor perfectly. In fact what it does is, it leaves abrasion marks on the low-pass filter which covers the sensor and therefore renders it permanently useless. I haven’t got a spare couple of thousand quid to replace it, so now I got a permanently damaged camera. Great.